AD&D: World of Axun (Fan Fiction)

Elves and their Forest

I’m lousy with names (especially fictitious ones) so fill me in on character names when I inevitably forget.

M’s Elven Ranger had recently earned her bow, signifying her ascent into adulthood. She staked out some of the enchanted elven forest, on it’s northwestern fringe, to serve and protect for a time, as her duty to her people. She picked a place far from the heart of the wood, partially to be near her friend (Anna) who was only half-elven and less comfortable deeper in, where the full-blooded elders would frequently ignore or shun her.

She quickly learned why living near the frontier could be challenging, as in the space of only a couple weeks – or was it years? – she’d already had to temporarily shelter a very human-ified half-human (and half-elf) running for his life from another group of humans, then encountered a huge human running for his life from another direction entirely. She was starting to understand why so many of her (now) peers simply shoot first to drive the interlopers out. They simply do not understand when you ask them to leave politely. They were entertaining, though.

Session 2
After getting the half-human camper to talk to the new “barbarian,” it was revealed that he was a survivor of an Axunian Knight ambush of his raiding party. The death in battle would have been acceptable, but the clan chief’s daughter’s capture was not. The very worldly barbarian convinces the local elves (and half-elves) to help him raid the mining enclosure to rescue her.

The ambush team has already left, so it was just the mine’s men-at-arms who patrolled the grounds of the mining camp. That said there were also 20 burly miners inside as well, and they had no idea if the Chief’s daughter was within. The stealthy half-breed thief and the BARBARIAN approached the camp, and evaded the guards, finding the daughter in the headman’s cabin, fairly abused. A fight ensues when a guard comes upon the barbarian unsuspectingly, then raises the alarm.

The party manages to bottle up the mass of guys in the barracks and fight the man at arms and headman separately. Mighty wounds are taken on all sides, but with withering fire support from the elven ranger, the day was won, with minimal escapees. Sadly, the newly freed barbarian princess is cold-cocked by the other returning man-at-arms and almost dies, before the party kills her assailant.

session 3
The elven ranger finds a mysterious hole in the permafrost that leads down into the earth. It fascinates her, and soon the others learn of it. It’s decided to go check it out. A rope is secured to a nearby tree and people start to climb down. Due to reasons of being 1st level, a chain reaction, causes members of the party to uncontrollably descend the hole, others follow. Once in the ruins at the bottom, a stranded Paladin is found in the ruins of an ancient underground Dwarven city. He is suspicious of the party, but eventually gets a bit of clarity, purpose and connection by praying near the hole, which yields a poor, but serviceable connection to his god (actually the bureaucracy of his god). It turns out the Paladin was praying for help when the hole opened up to begin with.

Besides the distance underground, the other reason the connection was crappy was that there is a presence in the city that speaks into the minds of certain individuals. In this case, the “voice” seemed to have a connection with the Elven Ranger and the Paladin. It mostly just spooked the Paladin, while the Ranger was at once freaked out and attracted to the voice.

Against the warnings of the Ranger and Paladin, the barbarians found a room near The Voice that held the richly-appointed remains of a royal pair of Dwarves. It was un-trapped and simply held riches and quality gear. While looting, the male barbarian cracked the door to the Voice’s room open, which allowed the pool of darkness that is the Voice to spill forth and seduce the Elves. I swallowed them up and physically brought them back to it’s container, a shallow pool/well that held it’s essence for untold centuries.

It showed them the past glories of the elves, of their former domination of the humans, and how it was all taken from them by a tricky human god. He stole their anger, their vice, their motivation to do more than simply exist. Made them slaves to the human’s whims. He beseeched the Ranger to take him to the heart of the wood and help him make the elves whole once more. She accepts the deal and is clad in a second black skin from neck to toe.

Session 4

While trying to find a way back up and out, a curious horned person appears and offers to help. There is much figuring out how to solve the problem. The barbarians find another room and loot it. Eventually the party gets out wight he help of Venom. Did I miss something?

Session 5 (written before I miss anything)

Now out of the hole, the Ranger leads the party straight at the center of the wood. She thought it would be just the elves and part elves making the trip, but everybody joins in. After much discussion about marching order and protecting the plant life, the party starts heading in. The Ranger disappears for a bit, but comes back, just as another elf shows up to challenge the party.

The Ranger goes to talk to the older ranger, and mid sentence a fight breaks out; the opening shot pinning the barbarian’s foot to a log. In the fight, the party bravely advances on the Elf’s position, but are hammered by his arrows. His trainees grab the Ranger and Venom and proceed to tie her up (provoking her to wonder why she’s wearing this suit anyhow?). Nobody dies, but it’s a frustrating fight for the party.

The adventure log is where you list the sessions and adventures your party has been on, but for now, we suggest doing a very light “story so far” post. Just give a brief overview of what the party has done up to this point. After each future session, create a new post detailing that night’s adventures.

One final tip: Don’t stress about making your Obsidian Portal campaign look perfect. Instead, just make it work for you and your group. If everyone is having fun, then you’re using Obsidian Portal exactly as it was designed, even if your adventure log isn’t always up to date or your characters don’t all have portrait pictures.